My hardest lesson from fundraising? You probably don’t need to fundraise. Or at least as much as you thought you did. Fundraising itself is hugely distracting. And once you get a big raise done, now you have investors to manage, board meetings to prep for, and major decisions are now a negotiation. And if you raise money – trust me, you’ll find a way to spend it. After every raise, your monthly costs will step up. That’s fine if revenues rise nicely in line. But it’s a problem if something unexpected happens – and it normally does.

Introduction: The Employment Law Landscape in the UK
Employees based in the UK have a number of mandatory legal protections. Some of these may feel intuitive and obvious to founders, whilst others may take some getting used to.

Introduction: The Funding Landscape
Raising your first investment round is hard work. Founders often spend months cold-emailing investors, refining pitch decks, presenting to rooms of sceptics, and navigating the long road of due diligence. 

It’s been a tricky two years for the deals market here in the UK and the FT’s recent article really emphasises how frustrated founders are feeling. I review and comment on the quarterly data for KPMG’s Venture Pulse reports (KPMG Private Enterprise quarterly global report on venture capital trends) and honestly, even as a glass half full type of person, it’s been hard to stay positive when looking at the stats. How many times can you say ‘there’s still plenty of dry powder which needs to be deployed, we’re just waiting for this period of uncertainty to pass’ before it starts to sound disingenuous? 

To onboard early users as a founder, start with direct, personal outreach. Message potential users through LinkedIn, Twitter, or email. Not with a hard pitch, but by asking for feedback and involving them in the journey. Focus your efforts on a very specific niche or ICP (ideal customer profile) so your messaging resonates deeply and you can be efficient with your time. Be laser-focused on speaking to the right people in the right levels of seniority so you can get higher conversions and stronger product-market fit.

I never set out to follow a traditional career path. In fact, I’ve spent most of my career doing the opposite—questioning the way things have always been done, stepping into stretch roles, and making bold career moves that didn’t always make sense on paper. Every defining moment in my career happened because I ignored the typical playbook.

I am a lawyer. Give me a set of rules. Give me a problem. Understand the problem. Apply former to the latter. Understand the client, the business, the industry and the technology. Horizon scan, be commercial, flex communication style. Deliver. I am good at it, and I enjoy it.

I remember my first “job in tech” well. It was my final year of high school, and a friend of my father needed his printing machine fixed. All I had to do was preinstall some drivers. Simple enough. But that small task unexpectedly landed me my first real job as a programmer at a small Bulgarian company owned by my father’s friend. 

Adopting a beginner’s mindset and sense of curiosity is a good place to start. Recognising that we are never the finished product I am always striving to surround myself by those more talented than me and those who inspire me to be better. That can take the form of informal mentors / advisors as well as peer communities of entrepreneurs to share experiences and learn from. Also being open to feedback and creating opportunities for colleagues to share openly, whether it be in a 121 or through a regular semi-structured feedback process is a great way of addressing any blind spots.

Burnout doesn’t strike like a lightning bolt out of nowhere. It builds over time as you push through exhaustion, override discomfort, and convince yourself that slowing down isn’t an option. 

As founders, we live under relentless pressure. Not just to succeed, but to keep on going. To lead the way. To carry the weight of our vision. That kind of pressure rewires you. You adapt, push harder, and tell yourself this is just how it’s meant to be.